More than 700 women between the ages of 18 and 55 were surveyed throughout South Africa about the effect that love – or the lack thereof, rather – have on their mental wellbeing. The survey participants were all in committed relationships.
While eight in ten women considered themselves to have a healthy love drive, 15% cited their partner’s disinterest, as one of the primary reasons for not having love as often as they would like to.
A previous Pharma Dynamics survey found that South African men have far less love than their global counterparts. The average number of times a year South African men have love is 52, in comparison to the global average of 104 times.
According to Tumi Motsei, spokesperson for Pharma Dynamics, numerous international studies point to psychological problems ranging from embarrassment to serious depression as a result of a love-less relationship, to which her company’s findings corroborate.
F“When a man starts to withdraw physically, it is natural for a woman to believe that her partner is losing interest in her, thereby impacting self esteem and feelings of attractiveness. Women who measure their self esteem by how men respond to their sexuality are particularly vulnerable to fears of rejection,” Motsei said in a press release.
As a result of their partner’s physical withdrawal, 54% of respondents said they felt less attractive; 44% felt less self confident; 34% cited emotions of alienation and abandonment; 22% were less trusting of their partner; 21% were concerned that their partner might be having an affair and 11% felt betrayed.
Motsei warned that when a woman loses a loving sexual relationship, she may choose to withhold her partner from any type of sexual experience. “After going through the pain associated with rejection and lack of empathy from her partner, she might divert her attention to other matters in order to compensate for the loss of sexual intimacy.
“This is the right time for a couple to see a relationship counsellor or love therapist. Counselling may rekindle the romance and redirect energies into the relationship,” she said
